At UVU, everything felt inclusive and collaborative. It felt like everything was geared toward helping us work together, build our networks, and gain the skills we needed to graduate.
I have been writing fantasy fiction ever since I was a teenager. I started my first book when I was 15. I started very early, but the education that I got at UVU has helped me understand how to better brand myself as an author, push myself out there to my audience, and basically market myself as a creator.
The world of publishing right now is far different than what it was a decade ago. Self-publishing, the avenue I chose, is becoming a more viable option, especially for new authors. A lot of established authors like Stephen King and Brandon Sanderson are also making their way to self-publishing because it gives them more freedom.
The most challenging aspect is getting your book in front of the eyes of interested readers when there are already so many voices. The fantasy genre is saturated with authors breaking through and trying to do something original. But if you just keep experimenting and trying new things and pushing yourself out there, eventually, it will catch on.
There's still a long road ahead for me, and I'm still constantly learning. Marketing a book is unlike anything I've ever marketed before. It is challenging. But UVU gave me the tools to know how to look at what I'm doing, see how I can improve, and go forward and make results happen.
I knew I belonged at UVU pretty quickly. My journey here wasn't something that I really was anticipating or intending. But when I arrived at UVU and started taking all the classes, having experiences with faculty and staff, and meeting other students, it just felt like a place where I belonged, where I could grow and expand on my skills. It was a great fit.
Many university classes and programs have a competitive nature. They're meant to weed out the people who aren't dead serious about the program. But at UVU, everything felt inclusive and collaborative. It felt like everything was geared toward helping us work together, build our networks, and gain the skills we needed to graduate.
The Wolverine Public Relations firm, for example, was a class where we operated as a public relations firm and separated into teams. We worked for real-life clients, initiating campaigns, measuring results, and reporting back. It was extremely helpful for my career. I did that class two or three times, and I ended up making some great friends and connections. It gave me the skills I needed within that collaborative environment.
People have this idea of what an author is. They think that you're constantly floating down this river of inspiration. But that's not true. A lot of the time, writing books is setting a quota for yourself for the day, whether it's 1,000 or 2,000 words, and staying to that routine of writing consistently and making it a steady part of your life.
In terms of making myself an Amazon-bestselling author, I have to attribute some of that success to UVU and the things that I learned here. It was here that I learned the tools of marketing myself, finding my audience, giving them a compelling offer, and measuring the results of what happened. If I didn’t go to school here, I would just be a guy writing in his room. But with the tools that I learned here, it's become my success.
The advice I'd give to current and upcoming students is just to get involved. Go find clubs geared toward something you're interested in. Make friends with your classmates and do your very best in your classes. Just make those connections and make those friendships because not only are those friendships very rewarding, they are connections that are going to stick with you. So get involved, become part of campus, become part of life, enjoy it while it's there, and suck the marrow out of it and enjoy it all you can while it's there.
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